Several proxy networks exist already to provide uncensored Internet access to Chinese people. Of course at the same time, some organizations outside China have started to block traffic originating from chinese IP blocks, because of all the spam they receive that transits through China.
As for the will to deregulate trade with China despite the violation human rights : the Chinese market means access to over a billion consumers, and to access that market, capitalistic and "free" countries are willing to close their eyes on those political "details".
Wal-Mart could be able to see that you bought clothes at the Gap, and then offer you a coupon for their own line of clothing, on your receipt when you check out.
They could be able to see that you bought your pants at their store on a previous visit, and when you bought it. If the pants are more than 3 years old, your checkout receipt will politely suggest you to buy a new pair of pants.
If they detected no RFID in any of your clothes, robot guards would come and arrest you for indecent exposure.
A "membership card" or RFID tags are not necessary to link your name and the purchases you make. It only makes the process easier.
Retailers could already link you (through your credit card or check) with your purchases. The retailer keeps electronic or paper copies of all receipts they hand out. A database of such receipts would be a marketer's dream, so my guess is that's gonna happen one day or another. Maybe RFID will make it easy enough for them.
To escape that, all is left is cash. They can't trace you with cash. Oh wait, now there's RFID in cash too. Damn.
Yes it is true, according to the article, individual items will not be tagged, except for some HP printers. And even then, it's the packaging that is tagged not the printer itself.
Making the supply chain more effective, keeping track of inventories more easily are obvious benefits from RFID, and even Albrecht will admit that.
Another goal of Walmart in the longer term is to make the checkout process faster. This will require RFID on the individual items, and *this* is where there are some privacy concerns. The packaging of Gillette razors already contain RFID (not a too big problem, since you throw the packaging away), but RFID chips are also in Gap pants for instance, and these remain active after you check out of the store. This active chip could be used by other retailers to know your consuming habits whenever you enter their store.
My biggest concern is the RFID now embedded in cash. The new US 20$ dollar bills have an RFID chip in them (located in Jackson's eye), Euro banknotes have them as well, and Japan intends to have RFID in its banknotes in the near future.
Cash was the last way to pay for stuff anonymously, but RFID puts an end to that. Also, RFID readers are a cheap technology, so you could have people in the streets scanning other people and determine how much cash they have on them. People standing near you in a line at the airport or in a store, or standing beside you in the bus, are close enough to scan your wallet for RFID signals.
That being said, I agree with the parent poster that RFID tags on pallets and cases are not that big of a problem for the consumer.
According to the Spamhaus project, China and South Korea are the second and third biggest spamming countries in the world (after the US).
So if you don't know anyone there, or don't care for their business, then you can indeed block their known IP blocks. China still isn't a free country, and I, like many, would love to give the Chinese people a way to to communicate with the outside world, but if the first people that jump on the wagon are net abusers, then I'll just close the window again.
Also, I've noticed during a trip to Cuba last year that Yahoo Mail Spain was a popular web-based email service used by Cubans to communicate with the outside world.
There are a lot of spanish speaking countries in the world, and blacklisting big spanish ISPs might cut more people off the Internet than just people living in Spain. I'm thinking especially of spanish speaking people living in politically unstable countries (Cuba, Colombia, Chile, Paraguay, Venezuela, California, etc.)
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You therefore cannot measure the "speed of time" That would be absurd.
Wow, I can't believe it's Monday already. Time flies !
They can prevent their citizens from using Google altogether. They already have in the past.
China blocking Google [september 2002]
Several proxy networks exist already to provide uncensored Internet access to Chinese people. Of course at the same time, some organizations outside China have started to block traffic originating from chinese IP blocks, because of all the spam they receive that transits through China.
As for the will to deregulate trade with China despite the violation human rights : the Chinese market means access to over a billion consumers, and to access that market, capitalistic and "free" countries are willing to close their eyes on those political "details".
Wal-Mart could be able to see that you bought clothes at the Gap, and then offer you a coupon for their own line of clothing, on your receipt when you check out.
They could be able to see that you bought your pants at their store on a previous visit, and when you bought it. If the pants are more than 3 years old, your checkout receipt will politely suggest you to buy a new pair of pants.
If they detected no RFID in any of your clothes, robot guards would come and arrest you for indecent exposure.
A "membership card" or RFID tags are not necessary to link your name and the purchases you make. It only makes the process easier.
Retailers could already link you (through your credit card or check) with your purchases. The retailer keeps electronic or paper copies of all receipts they hand out. A database of such receipts would be a marketer's dream, so my guess is that's gonna happen one day or another. Maybe RFID will make it easy enough for them.
To escape that, all is left is cash. They can't trace you with cash. Oh wait, now there's RFID in cash too. Damn.
Yes it is true, according to the article, individual items will not be tagged, except for some HP printers. And even then, it's the packaging that is tagged not the printer itself.
Making the supply chain more effective, keeping track of inventories more easily are obvious benefits from RFID, and even Albrecht will admit that.
Another goal of Walmart in the longer term is to make the checkout process faster. This will require RFID on the individual items, and *this* is where there are some privacy concerns. The packaging of Gillette razors already contain RFID (not a too big problem, since you throw the packaging away), but RFID chips are also in Gap pants for instance, and these remain active after you check out of the store. This active chip could be used by other retailers to know your consuming habits whenever you enter their store.
My biggest concern is the RFID now embedded in cash. The new US 20$ dollar bills have an RFID chip in them (located in Jackson's eye), Euro banknotes have them as well, and Japan intends to have RFID in its banknotes in the near future.
Cash was the last way to pay for stuff anonymously, but RFID puts an end to that. Also, RFID readers are a cheap technology, so you could have people in the streets scanning other people and determine how much cash they have on them. People standing near you in a line at the airport or in a store, or standing beside you in the bus, are close enough to scan your wallet for RFID signals.
That being said, I agree with the parent poster that RFID tags on pallets and cases are not that big of a problem for the consumer.
According to the Spamhaus project, China and South Korea are the second and third biggest spamming countries in the world (after the US). So if you don't know anyone there, or don't care for their business, then you can indeed block their known IP blocks. China still isn't a free country, and I, like many, would love to give the Chinese people a way to to communicate with the outside world, but if the first people that jump on the wagon are net abusers, then I'll just close the window again. Also, I've noticed during a trip to Cuba last year that Yahoo Mail Spain was a popular web-based email service used by Cubans to communicate with the outside world. There are a lot of spanish speaking countries in the world, and blacklisting big spanish ISPs might cut more people off the Internet than just people living in Spain. I'm thinking especially of spanish speaking people living in politically unstable countries (Cuba, Colombia, Chile, Paraguay, Venezuela, California, etc.)